Scrap EV - Building an Electric Vehicle

I’m still keeping an eye out but I have not been able to find anything in terms of a donor car at a good price, or any parts as of yet. I am looking into different methods of aqcuiring batteries and controllers etc.

I have not been able to find any great deals on vehicles, or parts for this project thus far. It has been on hold until I can acquire items. A shell for the vehicle would be a nice start!

I have decided to begin my project. For now, I have only decided on building an EV over a 12 month time period, with limited investment.

I am currently looking at a 1992 Miata convertible 5spd. Only $995. The only issue I see is the small space available for the batteries. The hunt will continue until I find the perfect car, I’m in no rush there.

Motors and controllers are important and I plan to actively seek those.

In the mean time I don’t like to sit idle, so I plan on putting together what I can. An LED battery monitor, picking up some of the parts like the 12v pump. Also I want to look into powering my lights with it’s own independent battery. Because I am in SoCal, I am going to use a solar panel (or attempt to). I just need to research the voltage needed to charge and not just idle the battery.

My DREAM would be to have it able to reach 50mph on a regular basis. Able to travel 50miles range (excluding idling at lights) and a 12 hour charge time.

I plan on building this car over a year and my goal is a $5,000 budget. I want to find most of the stuff to get me going very cheap. The donor car budget is $1,000. My goal is to find as much stuff as I can at junk yards and donations, and by contacting local companies and having them donate parts in exchange for advertising space on my car.

So here we go - EV #1.